criticall makes the case that design criticism belongs to everyone — not just credentialled practitioners — by gathering 15 selected essays from an open call alongside contributions from established design critics into a single, deliberately democratic publication.
About This Book
Launched by Onomatopee in Spring 2020, CriticALL began as an open call inviting anyone — layman, professional, or somewhere between — to submit a short critical text on an everyday design object, system, environment, or construct. From 70 submissions, 15 essays were selected and are published here alongside commissioned pieces by recognised design critics. The premise is pointed: if design shapes the lives of all of us, then design criticism should not remain a closed circuit reserved for the initiated. This compact volume works to dismantle that gatekeeping and establish the groundwork for a genuinely accessible design criticism culture.
Key Features
- 104 pages of selected essays and commissioned critical writing on everyday design
- Edited by Joannette van der Veer
- 15 essays drawn from an open call of 70 submissions, alongside contributions by established design critics
- Published by Nieve, 2020
What You'll Discover
- How everyday design objects, systems, and environments can be subjected to critical analysis by non-specialist voices
- The structural reasons design criticism has historically remained a closed, professional practice — and why that matters
- A cross-section of critical approaches, from lay observation to seasoned professional critique, placed in direct conversation
- What a more democratic design criticism might look like in practice, across writing styles, subjects, and perspectives
About the Author
Joannette van der Veer edited this volume as part of Onomatopee's CriticALL initiative. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 104
- Dimensions: 124 x 240 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9789493148499
- Publisher: Nieve
- Publication Date: 2020
Perfect For: Design students and educators questioning who gets to speak about design, practitioners interested in the theory and culture of design criticism, and general readers curious about the designed environments that shape daily life.